Une enfance française

Upon the death of her mother, Farida discovers the funeral rites of her origins, prompting her to reflect on her childhood, so far removed from her adult life.

Words and memories come flooding back as she recounts for the first time the life of this family of Algerian immigrants: the miserable council flats, the men crushed by illiteracy and colonisation, the terrified mothers.

In the middle, a sibling group brought up in an atmosphere of unprecedented violence, but united by laughter and the power of life.

What emerges is a raw and poetic vision of a French childhood, the harsh story of a little girl who was able to recreate herself and make a place for herself in a new world, animated by an extraordinary resilience.

A major figure in fashion, Farida Khelfa is also a director and producer of documentary films. Born to Algerian parents, she was brought up in the Minguettes housing estate in Lyon. At 16, she fled to Paris to live as a free woman.

Une enfance française (A French childhood), an autobiographical story, is her first book.